AM classes DISMISS EARLY at 11:05 am

If your child rides the bus home from our morning session, drop off at your home or child care will be 25 minutes early.

PM classes START EARLY at 12:05 pm DISMISS EARLY at 2:10 pm

If your child rides the bus to school for our afternoon session, pick up will be 25 minutes early from your home or child care and the bus at the end of the day from Fox Ridge will drop off 50 minutes earlier.

For students who were absent on Picture Day (Sep 21), started school after Picture day, and retakes.

Send your child(ren) to school in a costume if you wish. Please see below for more information.

Fox Ridge Early Childhood Center hosted its very first "Community Swap" event during the October Parent/Guardian-Teacher Conferences. The event was designed to build community while helping others.

Parent and staff volunteers assisted with the event and Fox Ridge community members participated in one of 3 ways: donate, "shop,” or donate & "shop." Families and staff donated clothes of all sizes, books, toys and even dishes to create a cost-free shopping experience.

“We received enough donations to fill the entire Community Room with books, toys, games, backpacks, home decor, clothing, winter gear, shoes, baby supplies, ride-on toys, and so much more,” said Fox Ridge Social Worker Melissa Plodzien. ReaderLink Distribution Center Warehouse in Romeoville donated over 1,000 brand-new books for infants, toddlers, and school-age children to help get books into homes. Some children were so excited about their new finds that they rode the toys out the front door.

After the event, the rest of the donations were packed with help from the District 303 Facilities Department and were donated to the St. Charles Salvation Army.

There has been an increase in hand foot and mouth disease cases in the community, and I wanted to increase the awareness of this common childhood disease to help prevent the spread. If your child presents with any of the symptoms listed in the educational piece please keep them at home. Our students are still learning to keep their germs to themselves and can easily spread this common problem. Thank you for your help with this and have a wonderful day.

Dear Fox Ridge Early Childhood Families,

This letter is to inform you about Erin’s Law (Illinois Public Act 097-1147), an Illinois law passed in February, 2011 that requires public schools to provide child sexual abuse prevention education for all children in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grades. Named after sexual abuse survivor Erin Merryn, Erin’s Law will be implemented again this year in all District 303 Schools. Please note that Erin’s Law is not connected to The Keeping Youth Safe & Healthy Act (Senate Bill 818).

Between now and the end of the school year, several lessons will be facilitated by our school social worker (Melissa Plodzien & Bethany Burgert) and psychologist (Serena Concha, Kaitlyn Ayala, Brooke Butcher) teams along with the classroom teacher utilizing the Second Step Child Protection Unit. This age-appropriate instruction will help students recognize unsafe situations, keep themselves safe, and learn how to respond to unsafe situations. Common themes across all grade levels include:

• Identifying safe touch versus unsafe or unwanted touch

• The Safety Rule About Touching (The Touching Rule): Private areas are not for others to touch, except to keep a child clean and healthy

• Steps to Stay Safe

• Understanding the difference between good and bad secret

For more information about Erin’s Law, please visit the links below.

For more information about the Second Step Child Protection Unit Scope and Sequence for grades pre-kindergarten-5th, please view the link below.

If you have any questions, please contact your building principal Jennifer Mursu at jennifer.mursu@d303.org or by phone at 331-228-2400.

Thank you for your support,

Jennifer Mursu

Director of Early Childhood

Outdoor play continues throughout all the seasons at Fox Ridge, weather permitting, and is an important part of our curriculum. Classrooms go outside as long as conditions are safe to do so and the temperature, including wind-chill, is above 15 degrees Fahrenheit. Please be sure your preschooler has clothes appropriate for outdoor play daily. If weather prohibits outdoor play (e.g., raining, too cold, or hazardous conditions like ice present) classrooms use one of our indoor motor areas. If you are in need of a warmer coat for your child please contact Tricia Sabathne, Child and Family Educator, at tricia.sabathne@d303.org

Children and families that celebrate Halloween are beginning to feel the excitement of the approaching holiday. For many students, the changes that come along with school parties/holidays and the adjustments in daily routines can present some challenges and uncertainty.

With that in mind, we have determined that on October 31st, the children will be invited to wear a costume to school should they want to dress up. We ask that students not wear masks that cover their entire face or bring any weapons as part of their costumes. We also ask that safety for walking/navigating the school environment is considered when choosing a costume. For those who do not wish to dress up, that would be just fine.

Teachers will be carrying out their daily schedule with perhaps some special thematic stories, songs and activities but they will be doing their best to create a typical day for the students.

We will not be hosting classroom parties with parents in attendance nor serving “holiday” treats, food or candy. Please do not send those items for your child to hand out to their classmates.

Please contact your child’s teacher or the Fox Ridge office with any questions you might have.

All children in attendance on Thursday, September 21, had their pictures taken. Color Portraits will provide proofs for each student that did not order pictures with instructions on how to order the pictures if you wish.

Retakes (October 27) are for:

• New students
• Students who were absent on September 21
• Retakes

If you ordered pictures and would like a retake please send in the original package with your child on October 27 and notify your child's teacher so we are sure to get their picture taken that day.

Donate NEW and UNWRAPPED holiday gifts for children infants up to 18 years in the donation box at Fox Ridge.

Early Release at Fox Ridge means an early release after your child's session as well as an EARLY START for our AFTERNOON students.

2023-24 Early Release Days- ALL Grades including Early Childhood

October 25

November 29

January 24

February 21

March 20

April 24

Website: https://foxridge.d303.org/
Location: 1905 East Tyler Road, St. Charles, IL, USA
Phone: 331-228-2400